Chapter Four
There weren’t as many guards as she expected, though the ones that were present took strategic positions along the cage. Most of the other captives had calmed down by now, only a few clinging to the walls near the lift.
She noted cameras pointing in every direction, leaving zero room for blind spots. Laura clicked her tongue in understanding.
This was a social experiment.
Of course, they wouldn’t miss the opportunity to see what their unique captives would do in the presence of other unique beings.
Her attention roved across the layout, hoping to note something of worth. She strained her ears as she moved further away from the door, listening past the dull buzzing of the electrified cage. She was suddenly aware of a man, maybe sixty feet, from where she sat with her breakfast, staring quite intently. He looked human enough. A leans towards Egyptian, with his dark locks and amber eyes. His smell didn’t give anything away either, but his behavior was..edging.
He appeared relaxed, but was too still, almost predatory. His gaze was watchful of the guards, of other captives. His glances continued to shift over her.
Her hackles raised. Instinctually, she reacted to the danger that rolled off of him; her body tensed as others remained oblivious.
She moved to another spot, one much further away from the man.
As soon as she sat down, her ear twitched.
“Super fun right?” Peppermint assaulted her senses before she saw her, a fool’s grin in place.
“Shush,” Laura tilted her head. Cecil did the same.
“What are we listening for?”
She didn’t answer as her heart did a little flip, hoping what she was hearing was correct. She stood, startling Cecil as she moved back to give her space.
“Stand here,” Laura whispered, ushering Cecil to block her view of a nearby guard.
“Oh, I love games.” She cackled.
“Shh–yes, It’s a game where we don’t get caught–best case– and worst case, I get fried.”
“What’s a game without risk!” Cecil clapped happily, spinning in a little circle.
“Yes, yes. Stop moving for now.”
Laura took a deep breath. First leaning her ear near the fence behind her to confirm it was indeed a dead section of fence.
“Okay,” she blew air, “I’m going to rip this fence open, and when I do, I want you to go as far away from here as you can. Yeah?”
Green eyes were lit with excitement. A small nod confirmed she understood.
Laura backed up against the fence, keeping a watch on her surroundings, ensuring the guards looked bored and tired.
She felt around blindly with her fingers, her skin coming into contact with the cage. Her body nearly sagged with relief from the lack of extra voltage coursing through her body.
Her claws extended, puncturing the mesh, as she freed a fistful of the material from its place.
Laura paused, waiting for it to happen, and between authoritarian commands from the guards, and the cackles of Cecil, it finally did.
The buzz of electricity, coming from the cage, whined to an end, as a deafening alarm blared to life. Laura took advantage of the confusion to focus on the hole, using her claws to create an opening wide enough for a body to fit through. She turned to usher Cecil through the hole, only to find her lost in the budding chaos.
Something moving fast caught her eye.
The Egyptian-looking man was off in a sprint. He was quickly catching the attention of the others as his speed became preternatural. The guards were slower to react.
He felled two before their comrades noticed. But once they did, hell officially broke loose.
The guards all readied to take aim at anything moving, a few screamed into their radios, and one–she was pretty sure–pissed himself.
Darts began to fly, and Laura wasn’t planning to stick around to see if one would land on her..but she would feel bad if she couldn’t at least save Cecil.
“Fuck.”
Laura turned. “Cecil!” She sprinted along the perimeter, watching the domino effect begin, as those who’d stood confused secured the opportunity to jump in and take their small retaliations. Honestly, if she weren’t so weak from resisting the change, she’d love to toss a suckerpunch or three.
She already regret turning to find the girl as a glance behind showed others making their escape up the side of the cage.
red lights strobed in time, across the length of the top, with the thundering noise from inside the building as the cavalry arrived for the stressed and dying guards.
“Yoo-hoo.” Cecil was waving frantically. Less in a panicked way, and more in an attention-getting manner. Laura clicked her tongue at the girl’s lack of situational awareness. She marched over to Cecil, pulling her in the direction of the hole.
“I’ve never had this much fun here!”
She practically giggled.
Laura bit down her rage.
“Through the hole, Cecil.” Laura expected at least a small back and forth of why they needed to go through the hole–as she continued to push others back, but there wasn’t so much of an ‘okay’, before she was greeted by the girl’s backside. Cecil was partially up to the roof of the cage when Lara began climbing through the hole.
Bullets replaced darts, and they flew in every direction as the captive majority attempted to escape.
She was panting.
Laura had only managed to put four miles between herself and Guantanamo before exhaustion begged her to take a knee. Her shoulder was probably the only thing keeping her awake. While she’d sprinted with all the energy she had left over the top side of the cage, she’d staggered, and her smooth jump off the cage roof was botched into more of a roll and crash. The cause of her stagger, she later realized, was a bullet. She was pretty sure it was clean through, but it still fucking hurt. Had she been at full ability, it would have healed like new in a matter of minutes.
She also had absolutely no fucking idea where the hell she was. She was marching through the densely wooded area that encased the facility to the cliffside, careful to snuff any sounds her feet made. She’d also lost track of Cecil.
Laura wasn’t sure how many others had made it out, but she’d only come across one other captive in her path. She could only hope most did.
Time ticked as she continued in a forward direction. She knew she could cover more ground in her wolf form. She forced herself to stop just long enough to remove the clothes she wore.
“Okay.” She breathed out a readying breath, then inhaled wolfishly deep, circulating her energy. Her body began to vibrate in a disharmonious state.
Then came the cramps.
She willed them to come harder, groaning at the unnatural twist of her bones and muscles.
Crack.
Her body contorted as she stood, continuing as she fell. Her canines lengthed to their full powerful size, as the fur that always brushed beneath the skin burst free, tickling in the wind. Laura stood back up–on all fours.
Her view was closer to the thick upper branches of the trees around her. She was larger than most Alpha male wolves, a terrifying sight by themselves. She collected her garments in her snout and kicked off in leaps and bounds. She was running off of wolf adrenaline, the feeling akin to flying, if one could manage to do so through the woods and not fuck themselves up.
Eventually, she found a road, by the heavy stench of fuel, and traveled alongside. Not too long after, Laura spotted a sign that gave her grounding about her current location.
She choked on a deafening howl, outraged with her proximity to a certain territory, before she had an idea...
The ‘someone-owes-a-favor’ kind.
… As soon as she made her way out of these woods.